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Im not sure where to post this but since this is the most active forum I thought I'd give it a shot here.

Do any of your kids have stomach issues? Im speaking more of anxiety related issues than true physical ones.

My dd7 has always had a sensitive stomach but lately its been in overdrive. She has gone to the nurse at least twice a week, sometimes more, for several weeks now complaining of a tummy ache. I have talked with her pediatrician about it. She has no digestional problems, heartburn or problems with her bowels. She internalizes a lot of her concerns and it typically manifests itself into a stomach ache.

Today she went to the nurse again...20min before the end of school. I finally sat her down and asked her what was going on. (We'd had this conversation before but it never went past her tummy just hurting). I told her that I thought there was more to her tummy aches so I needed to know if anything was bothering her. She ended up saying that someone was really mean to her friend and that it made her upset and that some boys pushed her in line etc. Was this the power of suggestion or truly the cause of her tummy ache? She went on about this one little girl who is really mean to everyone and how much it really bothers her.

So after our conversation (at school in the car) we drove home. I had told her different ways to handle whats been upsetting her and she seemed better. We get home...and she's totally fine. No more complaining of her tummy hurting or anything. She's literally "cured".

I know its common for kids like her to internalize their worries, concerns etc. But if any of you have had to deal with this...well, how did you? Any advice here is appreciated.

Oh, and just a side note; this is new for her. She has never been afraid of anyone, child or adult. She has always been very confidant and never has been affected by kids acting mean etc. She's never been intimidated by anyone so this is all quite confusing for me. ugh.

Thanks in advance, ladies. Im part venting and part searching for answers!

Oh yes Tammy! I think you are describing my daughter!!! If I'm not mistaken your dd and mine are the same age with about the same WISC results. From what I've heard from other parents, 2nd grade seems to be the year when gifted kids are not blending as well as they did previously.... did I express that the right way?

As for the nurse's office.......DD7 has been there 10 times this year. DD5 has been there 5. I finally told the girls that the nurse had instructions from me to call each time they "popped in for a visit" for any reason. Sooo,,, if they are not bleeding, vomiting, fainting or have a high fever, they better not go down there.

The bigger issue is, how concerned am I that being uncomfortable in school causes such a physical reaction? I'm not sure.....Is this a gifted kid issue? Or is this it's tough to be any kid in any school these days issue?

Anyone???????????????

Incog

I had actual migraines as a young GT child, if that helps. They went away when I got out of elementary school...and gained more control over my education and life in general. There was a genetic component working, too, but stress was my trigger.

I think stress definitely gets internalized for these kids, one way or another. Tummy trouble in the face of conflict doesn't surprise me one iota!

I had terrible stomachaches as a child and when I was in about 2nd or 3rd grade my mother even took me to the doctor and I remember having barium x-rays done! Nothing was wrong and I think it was just nervousness, although I don't remember what I was nervous about. I also began having migraines as a child but I still have them (in fact I had one on Thanksgiving - yuck) but I don't know if stress is a trigger for me. I do currently know several kids, who are not necessarily gifted, who are having stomach complaints. In fact some of them are on Prevacid or other types of medicine for their stomach issues. So I don't know, but it does seem to have something to do with the age.

Tammiane,
My dd had terrible tummy aches in preschool. I took her to the pediatrician more than once trying to determine the cause. In hindsight I realize that it was because preschool was extremely stressful for her. Though it was a preschool that taught a kindergarten curriculum it was still not stimulating enough for her. In addition, she did not relate to the children in her class. My dd was also having behavioral problems at the time because she did not know how to deal with the frustrating situation.

In kindergarten, I put her in a Spanish immersion program. She was finally challenged by the curriculum and she had something in common with the other students. Learning another language together was truly a bonding experience. They are in third grade now and a very close group of kids. All that to say, once my dd was stimulated intellectually and comfortable socially her tummy aches went away.

At the time I did not take the tummy aches as seriously as I should have. They were the symptom of a problem. I just did not understand the problem at the time. Also, since my dd was four at the time she probably had difficulty expressing her frustration. It sounds like your second grader has at least been able to identify the source of the problem. That is the first step.

Summer

Since I am an RN, there were no doctor visits, but several times I was wondering if the tummy ache was appendecitis
Now we are dealing with headaches. I am prescribing lots of water.

Oh Tammy!
Sorry to hear your daughters tummy is bothering her.
Here are some things that I have seen help:
1) Avoid Dairy for 2 weeks and see if that helps
2) Aviod Wheat products for 2 weeks and see if that helps
3) Add fiber wafers to diet, as directed on box for child's size and see if that helps, may take 1 month to see.

Obviously, do not try all the above at once!
Do not disobey the package ingredients.

If you still think it's medically based, ask for a referal to a pediatric gastroenterologist. I've seen many, many dear family members ignore their children's belly upsets because they do tend to be worse when stress comes - this doesn't mean that there isn't any physical thing going on.

4) If could be 100% gifted related, Overexcitabilities can include the over-attentiveness of inner neurons as well - for example:
4a) This could be totally normal, and a happy child who happens to be more aware of her inner workings.
4b) This could be the normal response to bullying, occuring in a gifted kid.
4c) This could be a totally miserable gifted kid who won't act out, so is errupting in other ways.
4d) This could be the occasionally miserable gifted kid who is doing some "curriculum compacting" on her own. If she's out of the classroom she gets to see a cheerful face, and when she gets back, so has a somewhat more interesting challenge, getting caught up.
4e) I think it's normal for some gifted kids to "poop out" during the day, and need a little break. This might be related to sleep troubles at night, or the "Hermoinie Granger Effect" - when a person seems to be living at double or triple intensity they can get tired at unusual times of the day.

My DS11 is a big fan of the nurse, even in summer camp! I think he sometimes needs the Adult conversation, but the fiber wafers, good classroom fit, and total devotion to sleep hygiene have really cut down on the visit frequency. I think this year it's only been once! Used to be every two weeks.

Smiles,
Trinity

Thanks so much everyone. I put in a call to her pediatrician to discuss further testing to see if anything is really going on with her stomach. Hopefully she calls me back today.

Its really frustrating because I just cant figure out a cause. Ive watched the foods she's eaten and I see no association with any food in particular. Her tummy aches seem rather random. BUT I dont want to dismiss it as just anxiety. DD has always been a worrier to the point of tummy aches but I am baffled by this recent increase. She's never had this many this often. That bothers me more than anything. I do think, to a certain extent, that her tummy aches are brought on more often by worry/concern/overload than a true physical cause. I could be totally wrong, though, so I need to make sure. I just want her to feel better. Ugh.

I'll keep you all posted on what her ped says. Im guessing that eliminating certain foods to "test" her reaction will be the next step. We'll see.

It is interesting to see that this is actually a common complaint amongst the GT crowd. hmmm.

Hi Tammy -

I can so totally relate to this. My 1st grade son has a stomach ache 90% of the mornings I have to send him off to school. He's actually been branching out the past couple weeks to sore throats and this morning he said he had an unusual cough. I really don't get the feeling he is trying to pull one over on me - I really think it's stress. My son has verbalized "School is boring. I am not learning anything there". The teacher must recognize him as gifted because she was more than willing to make some changes for him and put some stuff into affect immediately. This is our first experience with advocacy!

Anyway - my son does not do anything about this at school. He saves it all for home. He came out of school last week in tears with a stomach ache. When I calmed him down I found out he had a fight in science with another boy, and he's not a fighter. Once he talked about it, he was instantly cured!

My only advice is to really watch closely for emotional triggers before you subject your daughter to a bunch of medical tests. I really feel like many doctors right now are more than happy to bring a child in for tests that may not be really necessary. My son NEVER has stomach aches over school breaks.

And on this note, I've always had a bit of a nervous stomach! And so does my mother and my grandmother. The funny part of that is my mom and grandmother STILL have not connected their stomachs to their minds. It makes me laugh watching the hoops they've been jumping through for years to avoid combinations of certain foods, etc. I think it's very empowering just to know the affect of stress on your body! Yoga is very helpful for me. I try to help my son to make this connection and to remind him it's important for him to do positive things with his emotions.

Good topic! Misery loves company!

DD has suffered from stomach problems since about 6 years old. After tons of testing, she is diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It basically is brought on by stress, excitement and nervousness. DD is a sensitive child and this makes her IBS flare up. Her Gastroenterologist has a saying that the closer the tummy ache is to belly button, the less serious it is...

This is how we manage her tummy aches:

1. Lots of fiber
2. Reduce fatty foods (hot dogs are the worst)
3. The more processed a food is, the worse it is (no more poptarts in our house)
4. Yogurt. The healthy bacteria keeps her feeling better.
5. Reduce stress and anxiety (easier said than done)

Jeni

Thanks, Jeni. Thats helpful

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I had stomach issues as a kid, and I know it was from nerves. I was (and still am) a perfectionist, and I worried about everything as a kid. I remember it vividly.

My oldest DD is currently having headaches. We've been to the doctor, and we think it is sinus related. Sometimes I wonder, though. We're going to start keeping a log.